This invention relates to the storage of recording media such as compact discs and magnetic diskettes. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a storage system comprising a housing in which the disc-shaped record media may be accommodated in closely spaced adjacent compartments and selectively removed individually. A storage system of this general type is described and illustrated in DE-C-1 131 026.
The known storage system is in fact a case for long-playing records. This case is provided with a drop-down door through which access may be had to a plurality of compartments which, in part, are defined by thin, disc-shaped holders. Each of these holders is configured to accommodate a long-playing record in its cardboard sleeve. A selector panel with selection buttons is arranged next to the compartments and by operating a selection button an associated holder is caused to be transported outwards a short distance by a spring arrangement so that the disc becomes accessible. To put away the disc, the operation proceeds inversely.
Modern recording media, for instance laser-scannable compact gramophone discs or video discs, are relatively insensitive to touch, so that they can be held even in the region of their recording tracks. In the case of the corresponding play-back devices for the so-called compact discs, there are types of design, especially for use in motor vehicles, in which the compact disc does not have to be placed axially on a disc turntable but is simply pushed through a slot in the front wall of the apparatus.
While not limited thereto in its utility, one of the objects of the present invention to produce a container which is especially suitable for compact discs, which takes into account the above-described conditions for use in motor vehicles.
In the environment of a motor vehicle, the selection and removal of a disc and the subsequent reinsertion into the relevant compartment of a storage system needs to be possible using one hand. Furthermore, operation of a vehicle-mounted recording media storage system ought be so simple that the driver's attention is not distracted from the traffic. Also, it should be possible to manufacture such a storage system, as a mass-produced product, as inexpensively as possible. The motor vehicle environment also often dictates that the storage system have high volumetric efficiency, and thus occupy a small amount of space, while retaining ease of operation. Starting from the features mentioned in the preamble of claim 1, the features mentioned in the characterising clause thereof are proposed for the solution to this problem.
When compact discs are packed together extremely closely in order to house a maximum number of discs in a minimum of space, the invention ensures that looking for a specific compartment, and more especially the insertion of the disc into this compartment, can nevertheless be carried out almost "without looking". The invention also enables the remaining requirements to be fulfilled, including inexpensive manufacture and operation with one hand, as will be explained in the following description of several embodiments.